There will be much more to discuss on all this, but many people are
concerned about turning ICANN into a regulatory overseer.
Esther Dyson
At 01:10 pm 10/14/1999 -0400, Richard Forman wrote:
>Matt,
>
>I want to echo your concerns about the new contracts that have been
>endorsed by DoC and NSI and tentatively agreed to by ICANN's interim
>board of directors. I think it is critical that we act now to get our
>voices heard, and to try to amend the contracts in more equitable ways.
>
>I've spoken to a number of other registrars and, while everyone has
>their own individual issues, there are several concerns that have been
>voiced by most. Some of these key issues are:
>
>- Ability of NSI to use the proceeds from the sale of the registry to
>fund the registrar's activities (est. at over $1 billion)
>- Abuse of NSI monopoly position in marketplace (e.g., NSI will be able
>to give more favorable credit terms to its resellers than other
>registrars can for at least four months after the signing of the
>contracts)
>- Lack of service level or performance commitments by the NSI registry
>- Ability of the NSI registrar to enter into exclusive contracts --
>Amendment 11 prevented this for a period of 18 months from Phase 1
>deployment of the SRS
>
>We only have two weeks until the board meeting in Los Angeles to get our
>concerns aired. Several other registrars (along with ourselves)
>have drafted a letter to ICANN outlining these
>concerns, and this letter will be posted to the list shortly. We
`>encourage all registrars to lend their support and sign this letter.
>
>Please let me know if you have any additional comments. I am happy to
>discuss this with you, and anyone else, further.
>
>Regards,
>Richard Forman
>President & CEO
>register.com, inc.
>rforman@register.com
>
>
Esther Dyson Always make new mistakes!
chairman, EDventure Holdings
interim chairman, Internet Corp. for Assigned Names & Numbers
edyson@edventure.com
1 (212) 924-8800 -- 1 (212) 924-0240 fax
104 Fifth Avenue (between 15th and 16th Streets; 20th floor)
New York, NY 10011 USA
http://www.edventure.comhttp://www.icann.org
High-Tech Forum in Europe: 24 to 26 October 1999, Budapest
PC Forum: 12 to 15 March 2000, Scottsdale (Phoenix), Arizona
Book: "Release 2.1: A design for living in the digital age"